Question

Read the passage below. Then answer the question that follows using information and evidence from the text.

That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom ...

What is one question that this document leaves unanswered? Describe another document that might help you answer this question.

a. What were the immediate effects of this proclamation on the Southern states?
b. How did the enslaved individuals react to their newfound freedom?
c. Were there any legal challenges to the Emancipation Proclamation?
d. How did this proclamation impact the economy of the Southern states?

Answer 1

The Emancipation Proclamation's immediate impact on the Southern economy is unclear from the document itself. Contemporary economic records or newspapers might provide insight into the changes in labor, production, and trade following the proclamation.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Emancipation Proclamation, issued on January 1, 1863, declared that all persons held as slaves within rebelling states "shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free". However, this document leaves unanswered the question of the immediate effects on the Southern states, particularly how it impacted their economy. To better understand this, one might look at economic records from the Confederacy or contemporary newspaper articles that could provide details on changes in labor, production, and trade after the proclamation. There were no significant legal challenges to the Proclamation mentioned in this passage, as it was a wartime measure and it avoided areas where it would likely be challenged, such as the Union border states.